How many spacesuits?

[Tribble Threat]

Hi.

How many times have people worn spacesuits in Star Trek? I know in TOS, people wore suits in The Tholian Web, and Ent, they wore suits a couple times. Has anyone ever worn a spacesuit on TNG, DS9, or Voy?

 

[NCC-73515]

The augmented soldier in TNG used a suit to avoid the gas they tried to sedate him with, the FC suits were worn on Empok Nor in DS9, and on the Y class Demon planet in VOY, and when Tom & B'Elanna were stranded in space (and a few other episodes)

 

[Tribble Threat]

Thanks. Does that mean spacesuits were worn once per show?

 

[NCC-73515]

https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Environmental_suit#Appearances

 

[Timo]

The only shows so far that have not featured spacesuits at all have been TNG proper, PIC and TAS, although all had a bit of spacewalk action anyway. One might presume the forcefield belts of TAS are always an option, but a backup only: a life jacket of sorts, stashed under every seat, but never the first choice for serious space work.

The specific cases in TAS would have their own rationalizations, then. The Orion pirates in their titular adventure would insist that Kirk wear nothing but a life jacket; the semi-benign environment aboard the alien ship of "Beyond the Farthest Star", combined with expected tight spots, might have warranted the belts; swimming in Trek is typically done in uniform with minor tech aids anyway; etc.

Why TNG never featured either the suits or the belts is the big issue. The heroes making away team forays into risky environments (typically, hostile or failing spacecraft) was a recurring plot element early on. Heck, originally the show was intended to be "away team only", with the heroes adventuring without a starship, solely via transporter. Why not invest in appropriate costumes? Or if that couldn't be afforded, why not invest in a cheap Batbelt that erects an invisible forcefield? TNG was supposed to be futuristic compared to TOS/TAS; the belts would have been a nice gesture in that direction.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[NCC-73515]

I do remember a blueshirt with a mustache wearing some kind of hazard suit on TNG. Can't find it though... would be interesting to see if it's the same type of suit the super soldier pulled out.

 

[Timo]

The pressure suit of the soldier (in "The Hunted") looks like the opposite of a garment of that description: a loosely fitting, ballooning futuro-raincoat that would nicely defend its place as a hazmat suit but would probably make movement in vacuum hellishly difficult.

Then again, having a collapsible suit meets the story needs perfectly. And we never see it worn there. Perhaps instead of ballooning from air pressure, the suit gains material rigidity with the push of a button, or shrinks to become a skinsuit that creates pressure without air pressure?

I have no recollection of a blueshirt wearing that, and am intrigued to learn where he and it appeared.

The other story option is that the suit we see is the means by which the supersoldier thwarted the gas attack - but not the pressure suit Worf notices missing. Instead, the pressure suit was stashed in some other corner, and looked more like the part, even if we never saw it. Sure, the editing suggests the heap of rubber on the floor is supposed to be the pressure suit, and the open box from which it was taken is the very reason Worf thinks a pressure suit is missing, but that's not 100% explicit. FWIW.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[FederationHistorian]

why not invest in a cheap Batbelt that erects an invisible forcefield?

It would result in a lack of danger on away missions, since it could also double as futuristic body armour. Which would mean a lack of suspense for the viewer, maybe?

 

[Timo]

True enough. But somehow TAS managed to make its forcefields utterly ineffective against any sort of attack: stun phasers, kicks and punches, wrestling grips...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Tribble Threat]

I wish all the shows would have used the spacesuits regularly. Especially since someone already built spacesuits for most of those shows.

 

[trekshark]

I do remember a blueshirt with a mustache wearing some kind of hazard suit on TNG. Can't find it though... would be interesting to see if it's the same type of suit the super soldier pulled out.

This guy?
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Hester_Dealt

 

[NCC-73515]

This guy?
https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Hester_Dealt

Yes, exactly! And it seems to be the same suit!

 

[Xhiandra]

TNG: First Contact had Worf, Picard and RandomCrewman in spacesuits.
The movie, not the episode of the same name.

 

[Timo]

So, to answer the question:

TOS: one spacesuit type, plus the apparent cold weather gear from "Naked Time" and assorted partial protection in early eps
TAS: the life support belt
TOS movies: three spacesuit (or other protective coverall) types in TMP, two of which survive till TWoK, one till TUC
TNG: the hazmat suit of "The Child" that may be a pressure suit in "The Hunted"
TNG movies: one spacesuit type, one invisibility type
DS9: no indigenous suit, but ST:FC one used, plus that fancy thing Seyetlik wore in "Second Sight"
VOY: no indigenous suit, but ST:FC one used, and all sorts of fancy clothing, sometimes with visors
ENT: three spacesuit types, plus a couple of flight suits that might count
DSC: three spacesuit types
PIC: no spacesuit types so far

for a maximum total of about a dozen Starfleet spacesuits or the like, but a safer bet of ten. Or nine if you don't accept MACO as Starfleet. Or perhaps seven if you don't accept UESF as Starfleet.

(...But add two at the very least if you think the Kelvin timeline suits count.)

Timo Saloniemi

 

[trekshark]

Yes, exactly! And it seems to be the same suit!

as soon as I saw "blueshirt with a mustache" I knew who you meant (odd the strange little details I can remember from an episode I hadn't seen in years but I probably can't tell you each dinner I had last week). "the guy with the multicelled containment rack for transporting some disease"
finding that episode was harder than knowing the scene though. google was failing me so I just pulled up a season by season episode synopsis

 

[NCC-73515]

I also remembered he had to contain something and looked worried throughout the episode, but it wasn't Stubbs from Evolution... skimmed through each episode on Netflix and still didn't find him. That's the problem with A and B plots

 

[Tribble Threat]

Oh my gosh! I remember Hester Dealt! Because I thought it was fascinating that in the future, Hester will become a man's name!
But seriously, if I made a space show, people would wear spacesuits loads of times. 40 episodes out of a thousand is a wasted opportunity.

 

[NCC-73515]

So Michael Burnham having a typically male name is nothing new and TNG did it decades before? XD

 

[Timo]

Well, "Jean-Luc"....

But seriously, if I made a space show, people would wear spacesuits loads of times. 40 episodes out of a thousand is a wasted opportunity.

I'm just watching Andy Probert describe the process of making the E-D in the eighties, and he gives examples of how cars, aircraft and telephones have changed from their inception till that time. I.e. basically not at all. Just drives home the point of how dull science fiction design can be - just wait a generation and there's absolutely nothing recognizable about a telephone (unless you choose a keypad or a dialing wheel as a graphic option and mechanical bell action as a ringtone) ITRW.

They should have ditched not just spacesuits but ships and shuttles in TNG as well, and gone full throttle with the original "we explore via the transporter" idea. Only with ships, suits and the like as a holographic option for the nostalgia-minded users...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Tribble Threat]

It would have been very interesting to change things up and not have ships.